Spider Meadow and Phelps Basin, Spider Gap — Monday, Jul. 27, 2020

Summary:

Solo Overnight, 7/26 - 7/27

Hiked up to Spider Meadows, then up to the top of Larch Knob at the head of the meadows, below Spider Snowfield. Camped on the prow of Larch Knob (6200'). Explored the snowfield, but did not go over the gap.

Total Mileage: 16.5

Gain: ~3000'

Total Hiking Time: 7 hrs (Up in 4, Down in 3)

Road Conditions: 

The road in was just as others have described, they did not overexaggerate. From the turn off there is about 10 miles paved, then 12 miles dirt, then you turn off the Trinity road up toward Phelps Creek TH and drive 2 more miles to the TH. The dirt road to the turn off is pretty pot-holey and rocky. Bad but not terrible. I bet a 2WD car could do it. However the last 2 miles before the TH after the turnoff is terrible. Huge ruts. Large rocks protruding 4-5". I was worried I would bottom out a few times in my old Outback. Never did, made it up fine. Very dusty and dry road conditions. If it has rained recently and is muddy, the road will be a lot worse. 

Hike:

The trail up to the meadows, for the most part, is very well graded. It is a very high use-trail, and it shows in the well worn footpath. Yet, surprisingly, there are a number of very overgrown areas. Not a big issue, just make sure to do a tick check after your hike. I know we don't have many on this coast, especially in WA, but that is changing fast unfortunately. This time of year, many of the seasonal streams are dry, and the river crossings are pretty easy. I was able to make it all the way up to Larch Knob without getting my feet wet. The trail at Leroy Creek becomes a bit difficult to navigate just because so many foot paths branch out there where people in, presumably May and June, have looked for the best location to cross when the level was higher. The creek splits in three here so it is quite wide, but shallow. The far bank looks like all vegetation so for a minute you might wonder where the trail goes. Any crossing option works great now, and just head to the left, down river, to pick the trail back up. The highest-stakes crossing is crossing Phelps Creek at the head of the meadows (pic attached). Easy to cross without getting wet, but if you slip, the water will go up over your boots. Fortunately, those logs are very secure (at least at the time of this writing). 

The meadow is gorgeous. I think I am about a week or two past peak bloom, but the higher up the meadow I went, the better the flowers got. There are a number of camp sites in the meadow. I saw at least 5 distinct sites just from the trail, and I am sure there are more hidden away. I saw many branching off trails, presumably to more hidden spots. There are some on the far side of Phelps Creek, but at the base of the meadow, due to many snowpack fed waterfalls down the sides of the meadow, the creek is very wide and deep (but slow moving). Fording would be easy, but fording you will have to do. There is no jumping from rock to rock or log that I could see. Please stay on the established trails! The meadow is very fragile due to its short growing season.

After the meadow you come into some alternating forests and meadow terrain. Right before the Spider Gap/Phelps Creek split, there are 2-3 camp sites. 

The Spider Gap trail up to Larch Knob is very, very steep. I think I gained about 800'' in 0.6 miles. There is some slight exposure and the footing in some areas is loose scree. Take your time and you'll be fine. A few overgrown shrubs are on the trail that make getting under them difficult with a backpacking pack. 

There are 5 or 6 camp sites on Larch Knob proper. There is one campsite right next to the snowfield. There were people random camping above the toilets. There were people camping on a large unnamed knob to the right of Larch Knob.

A stream comes out of Spider snowfield that is very tasty and freezing. I would still filter/treat it given the proximity to the man-made toilets. 

I walked out a bit on Spider snowfield to check the conditions (pic attached). Very firm. Good conditions. I talked with someone who had just come up over the gap. They felt this way as well. Snow all the way up over the gap. Lyman Lakes & campsites are thawed though. This snowfield was recently demoted from being a glacier. Global Warming is terrible and why I'll never be able to vote for someone with an (R) next to their name, until said party acknowledges it, and that it is man-made.

Bugs were an absolute nightmare. Trail up to the meadow, the meadow, on the knob, mosquitoes, biting flies, wasps were all a nuisance. They finally let up around 5 pm. I read by the snowfield stream for a bit since that seemed to keep them away (mostly) and being in the tent was too hot. 

During the day, the wind comes up the valley, towards the North. As soon as the sun sets, the wind direction flips and blows down over the gap and snowfield and stays like that the whole night. This, coupled with being at 6200' elevation, made for a colder than expected night. I planned for the elev, but not for the wind being chilled on the snowfield. I brought my 15 F bag, and slept in thin wool and was fine, didn't wear a hat either. However, if I had brought a 40 F bag, I probably would have been cold. I had direct sunlight on my spot until 6 pm, at which point the sun went behind the mountains. The sunset colors down the valley were gorgeous. The night sky was amazing, I could see the splotchy dark blue band of the Milky Way. I looked closely for the NEOWISE comet, but couldn't see it (thinking it was behind the mountains). The person I talked to who had come up from over the gap said they looked for it from Lyman Lake but couldn't see it either, so it must just not have been visible without a telescope or astrophotography gear. 

COVID Info:

I arrived around 10 am on a very, very nice weather Sunday. The TH was packed with cars. No issue parking. Hiking up it seemed like 50 people were coming down from spending the night up at the meadows. I bet every single tent pad was taken that night. I was able to socially distance, but if I had known this going in, I would have done this overnight in the middle of the week or next year/after a vaccine is found, just too many people. Most not wearing masks and acting like they have never heard of COVID. I wore my mask around everyone I saw and kept distance, but still adds stress to your hike, and I am out here to de-stress, not re-stress! There are many areas of this trail that are wide and easy to distance on. But there are also an equal number of overgrown areas on this trail that are difficult to do so on, and I would have to turn around and hike back to a location I could, because God Knows they - who, seems like, have never heard of a mask in their lives - are going to. It seems like so many people think that "being outside" is the cure to COVID, as in, if I am outside, COVID is rendered inert, I can't catch it, and if I am an asymptomatic carrier, I can't spread it. I've even had someone comment on one of my trip reports on this forum saying essentially: masks don't do jack. My trip reports are not for those people. I hope they don't pass it unknowingly to their Grandmother or an immunocompromised person. I wear a buff around my neck and pull it up over my face when I am near people. It is literally effortless. It may not be 100% effective, but it is better than nothing, to protect both me and, in the chance I am a asymptomatic carrier, them. It also protects my neck from the sun and (somewhat) from mosquitoes and biting flies. How hard is it to wear one? I lost count on how many elderly or overweight people I saw on the trail with no mask in sight. It makes me sad.

The hike down on Monday was pretty chill, comparatively. Saw a few groups going up, caught up to and passed a few groups going down.

I saw 2 or 3 campfires in the valley at night. Coming down in the morning, I bet there were about 4 groups there the night before. On and around the Knob, there were about 7 groups camping. 2 spots on Larch Knob were unoccupied. 

Seattle (or WA in general) Dog Owner Entitlement:

Since the above COVID spiel has got me in the mood, I just want to say some words on a subject that has been annoying me a lot lately and this hike was the straw that broke the camel's back: Seattle Dog Owner Entitlement. In a past life, I was a distance runner at a decently high level for the better part of a decade. I ran a lot and have a lot of friends who ran a lot. I have friends who have run by a "HE'S USUALLY SUCH A GOOD BOY" on a trail and had their calf bitten into, ending their track or XC season. I love dogs. I have dogs. However, No, I do not trust your off-leash dog.

On the way up on this hike, I had one dog who looked like a spotted hunting dog and was named "Birdie" at that (who was indeed, very cute) just decide she did not like me. Growling, body language, etc. Was not responding to voice commands by owner (gee, a hunting dog not under voice control...). It took like 30 sec - a minute of this before I finally said "You mind holding her, I don't wanna get bit" before the owner finally restrained her. He responds "Sorry, that so weird of her. She must not like your mask." I couldn't help but think "Gee, I don't like [the lack of] yours" and "Maybe if you wore a mask, she'd be normalized to it." 

At the meadows, there was a group on a large boulder about 40 ft from the trail as I was hiking up it. Their dog was looking at me very territoriality from the rock, putting down body language that the owner was picking up. They were telling her "stay" and "no" and things like that. Anyways, this, what I thought at the time was a Golden Retriever, but later think is a very amber Chesapeake Retriever, decided to charge me. I wasn't too afraid because at the time I thought it was a Golden, and we all know Goldens' temperament, so I thought it was a bluff charge, and sure enough it was. She stopped probably 8 ft from me. The whole time it charged over 30+ ft the owner was shouting commands at her, and, once she got within 15', I was shouting generic dog commands hoping one stuck. After stopping and growling it finally returned to the owner (still on the boulder lol). As I hiked off up the meadow I was met with a "SORRY! I promise she's a good girl!" haha I am sure she is. 

Basically, I am sick of people on the trail having their dogs off-leash who have ZERO verbal control over them. I say Seattle in the section header, because most people on the trail are from the Seattle area (myself included) and you see this sort of dog entitlement everywhere around Seattle ("OH, you DON'T allow dogs in your [fancy] restaurant... WELL. HE'S. A. SeRvIcE dOg... OH you want to see the paperwork? WE DON'T CARRY THAT ON US. WE'LL TAKE OUR MONEY ELSEWHERE. EXPECT A YELP REVIEW!" Obviously hyperbole, but it is in the same vein as reality). I once talked to a lady on trail who said last year she was attacked by a dog, the owner refused to pay for her medical costs, and she just finally finished up the court battle with them. She said she is now very jumpy around dogs because of this attack. If your dog does not respond to verbal commands, please keep them on-leash, so EVERYONE can enjoy the trail.